Screen-shovel.



G. A. MUELLER.

SURE-EN SHOVEL.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 4, 1913.

1,094,161 Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

or-he COLUMBIA PLANOGRQPH C0, WASHINGTON. D. C.

CHARLES A. MUELLER, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

SCREEN-SHOVEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

Application filed October 4, 1913. Serial No. 793,318.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GHARLEs A. MUELLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Screen- Shovels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in shovels for removing ashes from the fire boxes of furnaces, and the object of the invention is to provide a shovel with a perforated bottom, formed out of woven wire, or the like to act as a sifter by means of which the unburnt and partially burned coal may be separated from the ashes and thus saved for further use as fuel.

Another object of the invention is to provide a durable and inexpensive shovel, and also to provide a ready means for changing the mesh of the woven wire bottom of the shovel.

I accomplish the objects of my invention by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved shovel, a portion of the upper end of the handle being broken away to bring the remainder of the device within the compass of the drawing, and Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing a false bottom secured in the shovel.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts in the two views of the drawing.

The bottom 3, sides 4 and inner end 5 which form the receptacle or bowl of the shovel are preferably formed out of wire cloth of suitably coarse mesh and large enough gage of wire to insure the required strength in this part of the tool. The bottom and sides are preferably in one piece bent to the required form as shown. The upper edges of the sides 4: and end 5 are reinforced by inside metal strap 6 of only sufficient thickness to hold rivets, and by con siderably thicker and stronger outside straps 7 and 8. The inside strap 6 will preferably be in one piece for both sides and end of the bowl, whereas two outside straps 7 and 8 will be used and the inner ends of each of the straps 7 and 8 will be extended and formed to produce a socket 9 to receive a handle 10, preferably of wood, and of the usual construction, which handle is inserted in the socket thus formed and is there retained by means of rivets 11.

The sides 4L and end 5 of the bowl of the shovel will be impinged between the strap 6 and the respective straps 7 and 8 and said parts will be permanently united by rivets 12 passing through all of said members.

Secured to the outer ends of the above described reinforcements of the two sides 4i of the bowl of the shovel is a U-shaped strap 13, the vertical stems of which are placed adjacent to and outside of the ends of the side members a and the connecting bar of the stems passes under and forms a support for the outer edge of the bottom 3. A steel toe-plate 14 is placed upon said connecting bar with the edge of the bottom 3 between them, and this toe-plate is preferably secured to the bottom 3 and the cross bar 13 by means of screws, the heads of which are countersunk in the toe-plate and the threaded bodies of which enter suitable threaded holes in the cross-bar 18, after passing through corresponding meshes of the bottom 4:.

The object in securing the toe-plate by means of screws instead of rivets, is to make the plate removable for the purpose of permitting the introduction of a false bottom 15 of wire cloth of a finer mesh, when it is desired to secure a finer screen than is afforded by the material of the original bottom 3. The inner end of this false bottom 15 will have its longitudinal wires bent to form hooks 16 which will engage the crosswire at the inner end of the bottom 3 sufiiciently to hold that end of the false bottom 15 in contact with the bottom 3.

The use of my improved shovel is obvious. It is inserted into the bed of ashes in the fire box and upon withdrawal therefrom with its contents, a few shakes of the shovel will cause the fine ashes to be sifted through the perforate bottom and sides while the coarser particles which comprise the coked and unburnt coal will be retained in the shovel and will be laid in a separate pile for further use as fuel.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is new and wish to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a shovel having a blade with bottom and three sides formed out of woven wire material, a false bottom of woven wire having smaller perforations than the blade of the shovel and laid upon the perforate blade bottom, hooks on the upper end of the false bottom to enable means for holding able toe-plate secured to the outer end of the blade and holding the false bottom in place at the end of the shovel.

In Witness whereof, I, have hereunto set my hand and seal at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 26th day of September, A. D. one thousand nine hundred and thirteen.

CHARLES A. MUELLER. a 8.

WVitnesses:

F. W. WOERNER, L. B. WOERNER.

M Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

